Biography
by Sobriquet Nightmare
Summary: I am Ismet Aherin, Chief Consul of the Counsel of Magic, average peace-loving citizen. Watch my life crawl, hop, skip past with the time of the world as I struggle, fight and try to find answers to questions that are never asked.
1. Entry 1

090912

Entry #1

I've always wanted to keep a diary. It's an odd thing to think of, whether or not to keep one, but I've decided I might as well. It's my 22nd birthday after all, and Evan said I'm too introspective not to have one, so here we go.

My name is Ismet Aherin, born the ninth of the month of Judgement, in the year of Repentance (that would be 1990 AD). People call me "Matt" anyway, so I respond to both names. I am about 1.9 metres tall, and who cares about weight. My hair is naturally black, as are my eyes, but somehow my irises have become white, while mysteriously retaining my ability to see.

I was trained first as a magician, then a cleric. But by the time I reached Priesthood, Hines had taken particular interest in tutoring me. I now am proficient in all magics, including those of the Cygnus Knights and the battle magicians of Edelstein. Right now I am researching on the magics of the famed Luminous, as well as picking up skills with the longsword and bow from a few books, just in case.

Evan and his pet dragon, Mir, have been my friends for as long as I can remember in Ellinia. Evan wasn't from Victoria Island though, not that it matters. They've been the only true friends I've had, and I'm glad they are.

Right now I reside in Kerning City, a gritty place that is free from constraints. Evan came to visit, dragging that archer girlfriend along with him, a nice girl named Denica. Well, if he's happy then I'm fine. So the only present was this book.

Went to the gym earlier on. It's been so long since I've first started… two years since I've opened the first book on battle magic. Perhaps my strength isn't as much as a traditional warrior's but it sure as hell is much more than what it was back then. Managed to lift a new personal record. I should be proud of myself.

Had a little hitch with the Hinkel that Denica gave. So kind of her, but my Olympus never looked so sad in front of the shiny new bow that is so large, square and light as a feather. The lack of weight is odd, for now, but I don't know whether to pity that bubbling which had ten arrows stuck in it before one managed to puncture it straight through. Blame my incompetence. The Blue Screamer, on the other, was really a steal, so perfectly balanced yet so cheap from the free market. Still can't believe my luck.

Chicken tikka masala for tonight with naan on the way in the oven for Evan and Denica too, since they're staying over. Going to have to tutor a new batch of Priests tomorrow. Well, I was in their place once, and I'm getting paid for this, so no hard feelings. I'm just hoping no one blows up their face trying to ask for a Shining Ray too early on. It happened before, and their face was literally the target. Not cool, spent a lot of energy cutting the spell and healing the poor bastards. I should probably tell them about it.

Ciao, and see you tomorrow.  
_Ismet_


	2. Entry 2

100912

Entry #2

Damn, Evan read the book. What's the point of having a diary if it's not a secret? Placed a pretty strong seal spell on it this time round, something the idiot can't break without having the hair singed off his armpits. Not that I know whether he has any at all.

Teleporting the three of us through Kerning to Ellina was overambitious: I'm quite surprised that I'm not dead from exhaustion, just rather tired in front of a bunch of Priests, people my age, freshly minted as Priests. There were a grand total of five, and to be honest I underestimated their patience and obedience, though one chap still wanted to go straight into Shining Ray. Fine, I conceded, and spent the next 5 hours trying to tell them how to do it when really, no one feels anything at all until the warm light rises from your temples. And that's when you've aimed at your face while trying too hard.

There's no feeling in summoning magic. The energy is still there, not like some gossamer threads waiting for you to grab a hold of. The process of shaping magic, however, is totally different. Once you've summoned the energy, forming it into the spell is a tactile thing. Those with sufficient experience can shape it with their minds, which is why I think I'm becoming lazy with my spell shapes.

Evan said he wanted to explore Leafre and the Time Temple. Not quite sure if he's ready for either, but I was somehow forced into promising him that we'd go together. Denica also made me promise that I would master the Hinkel by then, which is next week. A week to master the Hinkel? But she in turn said she would pass me an Arund if I could pass the Ranger test, or at least a concise version of it. Bring it on, lady.

Hines called me out in the middle of the training session, so I made sure they knew the basics. Why am I even being asked to tutor in the first place? I'm a consul, not a tutor. Apparently a pocket of the resistance had just harboured at Ellina and I was needed for, guess what, welcoming festivities! Hada good mind to tell him off, but you don't just tell Hines off in his face. Some things just can't be compromised I guess.

And I'm quite surprised by the fact that they hadn't informed us of an audience with the Grand Council of Victoria. As the bridge between high and Grand councils, the Chief Consul should have had ample time to prepare. It was less of a meeting and more of a hurried passing of information though.

There was this one man who stood out from the rest – he wasn't a battle mage or mechanic and his skin was a little off, but a rather handsome character still. I don't remember seeing him at previous audiences with the Grand Council. He also had a strange weave of energy around him, fingers of black that reminded me of darker things. I asked Hines if he saw it and he confirmed that it was the aura of demons and anger. Not very pretty, very suspicious. But maybe he has something the resistance needs. Something related to the information on Black Wing movement that they mentioned earlier.

What I still don't understand is what the members of the Black Wings would get out of bringing the Black Mage into existence. Perhaps they were promised things like riches or power, but what use is money or authority in a dystopian society, if the Black Mage intends to make it that way? And why does the Black Mage want to drag us down anyways? Somehow it is quite difficult to see someone like him pursue an agenda so blindly.

Funny how it feels like as though I've never considered these things, but I guess writing it down will help me remember.

Oh, I got mistaken for a warrior by the preists later on, only because I had returned to them with the Blue Screamer, a white tank top and jeans. To think that ten years ago I could never imagine myself looking like a warrior.

Let's see what tomorrow brings, shall we?

Ciao.  
_Ismet_


	3. Entry 3

110912

Entry #3

Managed to get a chance to talk to Mr. Mysterious today. I've said it already but godammit, he's a real looker, and there's something about him that exudes tons of charisma. His name is Godfrey Adriel, but I didn't want to ask him of his vocation. He was pretty reluctant to take a stroll in the woods, though he was quite nice about the way he politely declined. I wonder why he is so afraid.

But there is one other thing about him that strikes me – the way his eyes are set with sadness and anger, slowly simmering beneath that physical façade of his.

The new batch of preists managed to grasp a hold of the Shining Ray, but apparently one of them stayed up all night practising, and he was the only man in the group. Wouldn't be nice to make a woman carry a man now, and their healing didn't seem to work. Had to shower the man with a little bit of an advanced blessing before carrying his skin and bones back to town. I swear he weighed nothing when I carried him down the trees, and I had to give tem an order to cease training. Time still exists, albeit threatened by the unknown agenda of the Black Mage.

The Hinkel is feeling much more familiar now. I think I should be ready when Denica comes back. Plus, I wonder why an elf is willing to take a human like Evan for a boyfriend? Not that I am complaining. It's nice to see that he has someone to be with… unlike myself, what with my anti-social, impersonal heart.

Bitter and poisonous  
_Ismet_


	4. Entry 4

120912

Entry #4

So I returned to teach the priests and they ask me to teach them how to summon a mystic door. I said "okay, but do you have magic rocks?"

"No," was their reply.

"Well, would you like to go get some then?"

"But they're really expensive!"

Goddess of Heaven, teach me how to deal with them.

People MY age complaining about the costs of magic rocks! But we ended up learning things like how to dispel curses and form a holy shell around party members imbued with healing magic, and I tested ou the strength and accuracy of their shining ray spells. Quite impressive for basics, and the chap who fainted yesterday seemed well enough to knock out a clone of Malady out of the sky, though the swarm that followed was mostly mine to deal with. The feeling of satisfaction derived from sending a single arrow through one of those cackling witches is indescribable.

I though I saw Godfrey lurking on the outskirts of town, but I only got to taste the aura that lingered at where I had seen him… doesn't matter, the Resistance is set to leave tomorrow, along with my last tutorial with the priests, then I can return to my apartment, free to my own will. Looking forward to pumping more iron. I think I need it after all the nonsense that happened this week.

Hurry up Friday, hurry and come.  
_Ismet_


	5. Entry 5

130912

Entry #5

Fantastic, Friday the 13th. That explains all the shit. But let's start with the milder, non-problematic issues.

Talked more to Godfrey today. Apparently he has never been to Victoria island before and is quite unfamiliar with the place. Ossyrian blood, probably. That's not the last of it: he's at risk of being attacked by the Black Wing if he returns to Ossyria, not that I think it makes a difference if he stays or leaves. I'm quite sure there is cover activity that we have yet to weed out.

So the mister mysterious is staying here in Victoria island. With me.

"Are you kidding me?!" That was what I wanted to say when Hines told me the news. Fine, but will he be okay in Kerning? The closest description of Kerning I could offer to Godfrey was "A grittier, more industrial version of New Leaf City". He seemed okay with it at that point of time, and right now in the house he seems less restless than he was in Ellina. So if the man complains, it's his problem.

He also doesn't talk much. He wasn't particularly over what I cooked for dinner either, but at least I could tell from his face that he enjoyed my cooking. Why? He was smiling. And it was the first time I saw him smile since the first day I've seen him. Quite an achievement.

The last day of tutoring ended with a pretty big bang – they brought their fair share of magic rocks, but the dude doomed his entire class by accident! Pretty stupid if you ask me. I'm thinking of asking Hines to strip him of his Preisthood, but it seems a wee bit too harsh for someone just so accident-prone. Doesn't change the fact that he's a good student, just superbly unlucky.

Evan and Denica returned early! The woman threw my Ranger test right at me – a monster-summoning bag of Crimson Balrogs in Kerning city! I literally had to climb to the top of a crane in the middle of the construction site to shoot them from my vantage point, one at a time. That crazy lady, what was she thinking?

I must admit, the Dark Arund feels like a complete joy to wield. I feel like a child all over again. Maybe it's the adrenaline I got from the workout session earlier, but I still think it's the fact that this day's shit turned into something that wasn't so bad after all.

Eternally grateful and afraid of tomorrow.  
_Ismet_


	6. Entry 6

140912

Entry #6

"Is there any place in Victoria Island that you want to visit?"

"Don't you have to work?"

I guess that's one thing about being the Chief Consul of Magic: you don't do work until duty calls. In the end, he didn't have anywhere in particular, but he did show an interest in the Sanctuary.

"But you realise you'll have to fight if you want to get into the Sanctuary, right?" I think his silence then was meant for him to ponder between keeping his mysteriousness and visiting perhaps the only place he was interested in seeing here.

Evan disappeared somewhere with Denica, so it was just the two of us taking a tour of Kerning today. Brought him around the usual places where I'd usually be, and the general facilities as well. The bank, stores, gym… good thing he asked about mobile phones, otherwise I wouldn't have thought of getting one for him.

752/8910/5979

Lunch was at Nella's. It seems the only thing that can get him to smile is food, though I don't know if he meant it when he said my cooking was better than the food at Nella's. His aura almost disappears when he's happy… I wonder if there will be a day where I can ask him about it without feeling like an intruder. It's not a healthy aura to have in my opinion.

The biggest surprise was returning home to see that Denica and Evan had cooked dinner for the both of us. Apparently Mir had chipped in too, at least from the very little of dragon language that I could hear and understand. There was a platter canapés, bruschetta with woody, smoky mushrooms, potato soup, the most fantastic steak ever, and a peach flambé. There, I've recorded it down. I think the both of them can get married with cooking like that.

Tomorrow is dream day. In case you didn't know and suddenly wish to know, dear diary, Sunday is when I receive visions in my sleep. I don't know if I should write these entries independently or in this journal, but it doesn't really matter. It's just about time to start archiving them. Hines said that as a seer, we're responsible for knowing what the Goddess tells us and for telling it to others. I just hope it's as true as he makes it out to be.

Fearing the worst.  
_Ismet_


	7. Archive for 150912

Archive for 150912

I could feel the flames that threatened to scald me as I landed in the middle of the setting. They wouldn't yield to my command, and I was forced to draw a shell around myself to walk through the ruins.

There was the pervasive smell of soot and burning pitch, but also of sulphur and ammonia. The land had been poisoned, though I didn't know if the fires came with the pollution, or if they were meant to end it. All I knew was that the land was barren, trees scraggly and grass choking.

Buildings weren't the only things on fire though. There were bodies of warriors, thieves and archers, mechanics in their armour and pirates. Their bodies lay on the ground, disembowelled and decapitated. I can only guess that mana overflow that overtaken the mages' bodies as they died, dissolving them into nothing but dust.

One whose upper body dangled by threads from his lower body tried to crawl to me, but by the time I set his body to healing I could see his soul's chain shattering, letting it free into the orange night sky.

By then, the Timeless Myst robe I was wearing held the iron sting of blood, making what remaining people left flee from my sight. I was unarmed… no worries, but as I walked down the boulevard I saw something that made me think the people weren't running from me.

A demon. Catching sight of it literally took my breath away. The angel ray materialised instinctively as I let an arrow sink into its back. The roar which followed sounded like metal grinding metal and the scream of hundreds, perhaps thousands being tortured, a dissonance not of this world. I got a better look as it turned around to see who the offender was: seven eyes and an immaterial set of teeth. It was hulking over me and I had exactly three seconds to do something.

_Infinity._

_Elquines, Ifrit, Bahamut, hear my call! From the great heavens I summon the power of fire, ice and the divine!_

And there was nothing but the tear of the sky as meteors, blizzards and genesis rained from the sky. The three guardians stood fast, surrounding the demon and blasting it to hell. I could barely hear the shrieks above the din of magic, but the words I could hear very well.

_**Ismet Aherin of the sky, hear this and be warned, that this is not the first, nor will it be the last. The world will degrade into chaos, and one leader will come forth to bring them into order again. Your power may rival mine, but you cannot win, for destiny has already decided her outcome.**_

_**Flee, Ismet, son of Aherin. Flee for your life.**_

And the ground from under my feet disappeared. And I awoke.


End file.
